No returns of the cattle plague were published on Friday,
but Mr. Hunt's Bill, sadly shorn of its proportions, was passed on Thursday. A great deal of discussion occurred on an amendment forbidding the Privy Council to stop indiscriminate slaughter till after 15th April, which was opposed by many Peers, on the ground that the counties would not carry it out. The amendment was carried, however, and a proposal of the Duke of Marlborough to give the local authorities some discretion was rejected. A clause prohibiting fairs and markets for a lengthened period was also agreed to, bat it was evident from the debate that the landlords are gradually recovering their senses, and that the wild order to slaughter convalescent beasts will shortly be repealed. It may be added that the clauses in the Government Bill forbidding railway transit, though they have thrown the whole -cattle trade of Lon- don into the hands of foreigners, and caused a rise of a penny a pound in beef, have produced no serious mischief.
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